Lawrence was drafted 118th overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. He had a spell in the ECHL with the Dayton Bombers and three season in the IHL with the Kalamazoo Wings. The North Stars relocated to Dallas in 1993, and it was with Dallas where he made his NHL debut, playing 2 games during the 1994–95 NHL season. He played 13 more games for the Stars the next season before moving to the New York Islanders in 1997 as a free agent. He received more ice time with the Islanders with his best season coming in 1998–99, scoring 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points in 60 games. In all, Lawrence played 142 regular season games, scoring 18 goals and 26 assists for 44 points and collected 115 penalty minutes.

In 2001, he returned to the Kalamazoo Wings who were now playing in the United Hockey League after the IHL folded. He joined as a player/assistant coach, but missed a majority of the 2001–02 season due to a knee injury. In February 2002, he became Interim Head Coach of the Wings for the remainder of the 2001–02 season, replacing Dennis Desrosiers, but only won 5 of 22 games as the Wings failed to make the playoffs. He played one more season with the Wings before retiring.